Your True Power
by Ine-capa
Summary: An unexpected event makes Silver owe Shadow his life... at a high price. Will Shadow accept Silver's payback? Shadilver, ShadowxSilver. Rated M for possible future yaoi scenes.
1. Undesired attention

Chapter 1 - Undesired attention

_Ok, so I've never kissed anyone before. Why is that so bad? _ It was hard to resist the urge to punch the Blue Blur in the face during the whole 15 seconds he stood there, just laughing._ How can something like that be _funny_ of all things? _With half-opened eyes, Silver watched Sonic as he finally stopped his mocking and eventually regained his breath.

- "Dude, that's incredible. Specially being from the future, I mean... people kiss at a younger age with each decade so the tendency would... well, man, you sure you're 15??"

- "I actually turned 16 last month, remember?– that just made Silver feel even worse. –"And it's not like we had spare time to go about... _kissing_ each other back in the future either..."

- "Yeah, you're right. But, you've been here for two years now... Well, I'll be sure to stay on the look out, in case I see a good match for you. Maybe Cream will be up to the challenge... *snicker*"

- "Ok, stop that already! And don't involve little Cream in this. Kissing is not such a great deal, is it! I think there are more important things in life... like being helpful and... protecting the others..." _Great, now I'm just blushing stupidly, I really don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I am a bit of a moron sometimes. Like about ten minutes ago, when I decided that it was safe to engage conversation with Sonic after he insisted so much. And he HAD to choose this topic of all... Why didn't I just refuse?_

- "Alright, alright... it's ok man. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. And you're partially right there: You shouldn't take it too seriously. And, well... it's ok to be afraid when you have to face it the first time, and I can understand you turned that girl down because you got nervous, after all... maybe you didn't know her well enough! It's not like you should feel turned on with the first thing with a pair of boobs that crosses your way, that's more like Jet lately... But if a girl ever goes to you like that again, be sure to introduce them to Knux. Man, he could use some company!"

- "I heard that!" – The red echidna known as Knuckles was approaching Silver's house at the time –"I don't need anyone else, Rouge will be back in about a week. And look at yourself, blue boy, I don't see YOU hanging out with cute girls at all. Hiya there Silver. Could you lend me some tuna? I'm all out."

After giving Knuckles two tins of tuna, ...and three tomatoes, _and_ a pineapple, _and_ some ham, Silver was left alone to think. Having said goodbye to his friends, he walked inside. He had a beautiful house now that he decided to stay in this time. It was small but cozy, with a small garden and a wooden terrace that made the perfect viewpoint. The terrace even had a small wooden round table and some wooden chairs where you could have something to eat or drink. You could see all of Green Valley from up there, and now that it was summer the green grasslands were all covered with several kinds of wild flowers. Inside, most of his furniture was also wooden made and his living room had the most comfortable couches Tails had ever slept on, according to his own words. Sometimes, one of Silver's friends would stay in his house for a night or two, and make him company. He was ok around guys, but lately girls would make him feel a bit uneasy; ever since they realized Silver was gentle and polite appart from being all gorgeous, brave, powerful and absolutely hot, they were all over him trying to call his attention. But the ivory colored hedgehog wasn't used to this kind of treatment at all like Sonic was, who was always surrounded by his fangirls. Silver was completely inexperienced in love matters, and these had come to him way before he could naturally feel any curiosity in them in the first place. And he just had to remember _that_ past event...

He let himself fall on one of the sofas breathing heavily. He remained there for a few seconds and sighed. _I never said I didn't know the girl. It was Blaze who had tried to kiss me two years ago, and that had scared me._ Back then, Blaze had seen Silver's face and decided to stop, for she had known he wouldn't have stopped her, but it was clear from his expression that he hadn't been at all comfortable with the situation. So she had simply told him it was ok, that maybe he wasn't prepared for a relationship, and simply hugged him and told him for the n-th time she cared for him and would be there for him whenever he needed her. She was an awesome person, Silver knew that. But that didn't change the fact that the situation had scared the shit out of him at the moment and was thankful that she had stopped._ I guess it was right not telling Sonic that fact. He's a good pal and all, but I don't think he would've been able to give me a good advice about that. Even now I still have a hard time talking about Blaze... And after all, he never feels nervous or shy when Amy is all over him, so how would he know...?_

He remained there for an hour or two just thinking how love was a matter almost unknown in his future homeland, how fear and survival were much more important at the time. Reproduction was taught of course, but it sounded so systematic and logical that he never really gave it a deep thought. He went on thinking and pondering, always returning to that single moment when he hadn't been able to control the situation at all, until the sun set. He closed the curtains to a pink and purple twilight sky and went to the kitchen to fix himself a salad. _Oh right, the tomatoes. I really should learn how to say 'no' for a change..._


	2. The Big Surprise

Chapter 2 - The big surprise

The last days of January were as hot as every other year in the Southern Hemisphere. Silver woke up, stretched and yawned. It was half past seven in the morning, and he had to get ready to go to Saltown's celebration event. They were organizing a party of some sort in honor to Sonic and company (including him), who had saved said place about two months ago. The invitation didn't give out much information about what the event would be like, so Silver just thought it was some kind of surprise party for them.

He finished putting his gloves and boots on and tidied his quills and fluffy chest hair. _I guess this is enough, they didn't say anything about formal-wear in the invitation..._

He arrived just a bit early, like he used to do. The main square was crowded, but people were all standing behind some fences. On the other side, a little two-tailed fox and a black hedgehog stood near to what looked like a stage. So Tails and Shadow were already there... Knuckles would probably arrive 5 to 10 minutes later than expected and Sonic always liked to do the just-in-time type of entrance. As for the girls, well, they always would arrive about 15 minutes late. Seeing how he still had some time, he went on to greet his two friends.

"Hello Shadow, how are you?" – Silver extended his hand waiting for Shadow to do the same but received a plain cold "Hello, Silver" in return. At least the black hedgehog had looked at him while saying the words. That was more than you could expect coming from Shadow, Silver knew that, but he could never manage to put his polite manners aside anyway. He quitted the hand-shaking and put his hand down.

- "I wasn't sure if you would come, since you haven't last time... I-I mean, it's nice to see you around again" Silver added. He didn't want to sound like he'd rather not see him there or anything.

- "Had nothing better to do." – Shadow just looked somewhere else and Silver decided that the black hedgehog must've had enough social activity for the rest of the week. He turned to his other friend instead.

-"Hi Tails!" – he greeted the two-tailed fox.

-"What's up, Silver? It's been a while." – the little fox seemed concentrated on something and didn't look at his white interlocutor as he spoke.

- "Is something bothering you? You look a bit too serious."

- "Oh, I hope it's nothing. It's just this feeling I've had since I came here, see that people over there...? They are whispering things and giving us that strange look. They smile but it's like they're faking..."

- "You think so?" – Silver looked at the people Tails was talking about and saw nothing wrong with them. Maybe they were a bit stiff, but it was probably because they were hiding a surprise from them. – "I think they're just excited about something, probably something to do with the celebration... We shouldn't worry. I believe they are alright."

- "It's not about their safety I'm worried about..." – Tails' words were completely erased by a whooshing sound just as the Blue Blur landed on stage after creating a huge air current between them, which ruined their morning quill and fur grooming.

- "Hello everyone! Here's your man. The Fastest Thing Alive at your service. Been expecting me for a long time? Hehe."

- "Oh, certainly, it's you we've been expecting-" said a deep voice. A man with a black suit, white shirt and red tie, wearing a black hat, stepped forward. He was sweating under those formal clothes, but his fat lips formed a big smile. –"If you would be so kind, would you please come over here?"- He pointed towards the thing which looked like a platform -"I'd like to personally introduce you to the people of my town so that everyone will know who the saviors to which they should be thankful are."

Sonic appeared by the side of this man in less than a millisecond and stretched his hand warmly. He loved feeling that his work had this kind of results, with people being all safe and happy. And a few dozen free chili dogs once in a while didn't hurt either.

- "Hey guys! Come over here so everyone can see you!"- shouted Sonic and Silver, Tails and Shadow started walking towards the platform. It was decorated as a stage, there were a couple of microphones on a lectern, and what looked like a table with some flowers and food on it. Everyone around started clapping and cheering them, yet they didn't jump madly, like fans used to do. Sonic was too excited to notice though.

- "Shouldn't we wait for the girls?" – Silver whispered to Tails' ear. But the fox didn't even listen to him. He had noticed something was very, very wrong about the stage. And the engine sound coming from underneath it.

- "Wait, Sonic, may I talk to you for a second?" said Tails out loud so that he could hear. He just hoped he would come down from there as soon as possible.

- "What's wrong, buddy? Why can't we just start enjoying the party already?" – Sonic started waking down the stairs of the platform to show he was pissed about his friend stopping all the fun. Walking was Sonic's way of pouting. Suddenly the man in the suit turned awfully serious and shouted "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" and pulled the microphone like he would've done with a lever. The whole stage started rumbling and instantly several metallic tentacles burst from untherneath and started whipping everything around. People started screeming and running like crazy, some sounded like they'd been hit by those mechanic arm-like machines. Silver managed to stop one that was coming their way while he heard the man from before say, in a hysterical voice: "This was not the deal!! You said you wouldn't hurt my people!!!"

"WOOOO-HO-HO-HO!™" A new machine appeared, soaring the air over the stage. As expected, the round, personal mini-airship was carrying the infamous Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Everything turned into chaos. "Get that hedgehog! I don't care what happens to the rest!" Behind Eggman's shouting Tails voice could be heard, he was screaming. Silver could see Sonic for a second, cutting the tentacle that had caught the little fox, setting him free. People were now yelling and screaming out in terror, scattered everywhere. Pieces of the stage which had been covering the machine started to fall, threatening with hitting the people still close enough, and it was in a blink of an eye that Silver felt his body being attracted brutally until it crashed painfully into what must've been a metallic surface.

When he opened his eyes Silver couldn't see the ground, just sky and more sky, as far as the eye could see. His metallic shackles in both gloves and boots were stuck to this 'wall' beneath him, it had to be a kind of giant magnet which was facing upwards so that he couldn't see the floor. He moaned in pain and, still panting, tried to use his powers to get free, but the magnetic field was so strong that it was probably the reason why he couldn't get his powers to work. The magnet shifted a bit and Silver could see how high up he was, at least 7 or 8 meters above the ground level. He could jump from there. While trying desperately to move he heard a loud '_KLANG'_ sound and a curse coming from his right. He turned his head and saw Shadow, shoes stuck to the magnet, which had fortunately turned facing up again so that he was almost in a standing position.

- "ARGH!! My legs!!" Fury invaded Shadow's face, he looked like he was about to kill someone, Silver just hoped that it wasn't him. With his free hands, the ebony hedgehog managed to take one of his metallic-soled shoes off and put its matching ring in one of his already ringed wrists. It was then when Silver saw something huge that looked like a robotic claw covered with blades coming towards him.

- "Sh- SH-SHADOW! LOOK OUT!" His shout made Shadow realize the imminent danger Silver was in and made it just in time to take his other shoe off and jump over him, in an attempt to protect his body from the attack with his own. The claw would've hit them directly, but Shadow grabbed Silver by the sholuders and, shifting his body, put all of his remaining strength in a ferocious kick to the side of the claw, making it miss it's target by a few inches. The claw hit the magnet right by their side with a loud _'KLONG'_. Shadow turned to Silver again, still grabbing him by the shoulders. During a second, all Silver could see was Shadow, his ruby eyes opening wider than ever. He then closed them as hard as he could and his grip on Silver's shoulders tightened, as he cried out the most painful moan he had ever heard.

- "YAAAARRRGHHHH--! AH, DAMN!! AAARGHH!" Silver's eyes were wide open now too, as Shadow howled in agony right on top of him. The scent of the darker hedgehog's blood quickly reached his nostrils... He had to get them out of there fast, but he just didn't know how. Starting to get desperate and almost in the verge of crying, he saw Shadow open his eyes again. The black and red hedgehog quickly scanned Silver's arms and legs before shouting "Stay still!"

With that he violently punched his four shackles, in attempt to break them and letting Silver free to move again. Yet, being charged with Silver's power, he couldn't make a scratch on them even after several punches. He was just hurting his hands in vain. Silver looked at him in desperation as he saw the claw getting ready for a second attack.

- "It's coming back!!" Shadow's eyes looked absent for a second in quick, intense thought and then came with the solution. He took the red Chaos Emerald from in between his quills and exclaimed "CHAOS CONTROL!" When the claw hit, the only things left on the magnet where Shadows and Silver's shoes, and Silver's gloves.

Shadow yelled once he hit the floor. His leg was covered in blood, apparently the claw had blades where it hit him. Deprived from his garments, and a safe control over his psychokinetic powers with them, Silver took Shadow in his arms and just ran as fast as he could. They weren't in a position to do anything else at the moment, or so thought Silver.

- "CHAOS SPEAR!" - Shadow still wanted to destroy the bastard robots that had hurt him. His attack hit the mechanic arm supporting the magnet and it fell to the ground, finally deactivated. It looked like the girls had finally arrived, because Rouge, who apparently had decided to return earlier than it was expected, was screw-kicking the shit out of Eggman and Amy was helping Sonic out with the power of her mighty Piko-Piko hammer. Cream suddenly appeared in front of Silver, who almost crashed with her for not being looking to the front.

- "Woah! Cream!" – She and Cheese had came to the celebration, and given the situation had decided to help in any way the could. When she saw the blood on Shadow's leg, she got awefully worried.

- "Are you alright?!" she asked.

- "I am... Shadow is wounded though-"

- "Don't worry about me, just get someone to bring the boy his gloves and boots, he really could use them now, they're over there!" interrupted Shadow. Cream ran as fast as she could and told Amy about the fallen stuff, and when she got back to where Silver and Shadow were, a huge explosion made the three of them fall to the ground. Sonic had just pierced the core of the tentacle robot and Eggman's Egg-mobile was sent plummeting into the sky.

A.N: An anonymous reviewer pointed out many grammar mistakes. Sorry about that, it's been years now since I last attended an English class, and sadly, I can't practice it much on my own. This reviewer sounded disappointed, too bad they didn't leave a _name_ so that I could answer them properly.

Does anyone want to beta-read this fic? But this will mean slower updating... is it really necessary? Sheesh.


	3. Unexpected Lifetime Debt

Chapter 3 - An unexpected lifetime debt

Once Shadow got his shoes and remaining ring back he Chaos-Controlled out of sight. Silver never got the chance to thank him. Instead he turned to the others and helped them out, Tails had been injured too and Knuckles had fainted sometime during the fight. About 20 villagers had been injured too but none was in danger, or had died. The man in the suit, Saltown's mayor, explained that they had been forced into helping Eggman because he had threatened them with destroying everything yet again -people included-, and that they just had hoped that Sonic and the rest of the gang would save them again this time. They felt awefully in debt, but Sonic just told him he expected them to prepare a real party whenever they were able too and to be sure they invited them. He could be an asshole sometimes, but he also knew how to play his part as the hero. Somehow he made everyone feel hope even in the darkest moments. Right after he finished with the mayor he run to where Tails was lying and put an arm around his shoulders. His expression turned as serious as it could possibly get. The wound wasn't deep, but it had made Tails cry. Sonic would make Robotnik pay for that the next time. A tenfold if necessary.

Once everything came back to normal Silver headed home. Tails' arm would heal in no-time and Knuckles had just been hit in the head, but since it was so hard, he recovered pretty fast and remembered who he was and all. But nobody seemed to care about Shadow, since he would always just disappear like that and somehow reappear sometime later, in full shape. Nobody would care this time, but Silver. He owed him his life, and because of him his leg was in a terrible state... _Is it ok just to let him be like that? Maybe I should do something about it..._

Once he reached his home he tried to relax and recover from the experience. But he found himself just looking at the ceiling, thinking about how Shadow should be suffering from his wound at the moment. The doubt stayed with him during the rest of the day, and for most part of the night. Silver woke up the next morning with it still in his head. It was eating him alive, and he knew he would have trouble trying to get some sleep again that night unless he acted. The memories of the recent attack weren't helping at all, since he still had flashes of the events ever once in a while, the shouting, the metallic sounds, the pain in his body, the smell of Shadow's blood. So just after the sun started setting, he made up his mind and gathered some stuff on his bed. Once he had all he needed, he left and headed for Shadow's place.

Both Silver and Shadow's houses had been offered as gifts. They had belonged to people who didn't used them anymore and had decided to give them to those who had demonstrated courage and heroism by saving everyone from Eggman's attacks on countless opportunities. Silver had his home redecorated, but Shadow had never changed its appearance significantly since he moved in. It still had the same old furniture and some plants remained dead in their pots, completely forgotten. It was a good thing that even somewhat old houses like that were at least technologically equipped, and Shadow could answer the doorbell from his room, luckily without even having to leave bed.

- "Who is it?" sounded a deep voice through a small speaker.

- "Shadow? It's me, Silver. I-I hope I haven't woke you up..."

- "You haven't. What do you need?"

- "May I come in? I brought you some things..." After a few seconds of silence, Silver added: "I can come in through a window so that you don't have to, uh.. walk much..." He still felt responsible for Shadow's injury. He couldn't help it.

- "... Second floor, on the wall to your left. The last window. I'll open it." Shadow opened said window and a floating Silver was there waiting outside. He just floated a bit below the window level so that his head could be seen, in a rather respectful attitude. He was carrying a backpack that looked a bit heavy.

- "Sorry to bother you like this but... I thought that... well since you... you hurt yourself when... earlier yesterday- well, I... you...uh..." He hadn't prepared what he would say. _Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all...?_

- "Are you coming in or not?"

- "Uh, yeah, sorry" – Silver waited so that Shadow would go back and lay in his bed again to enter the room.

It looked messy. Against the wall to his left Silver saw the full-size bed, hedboard against said wall, with its white sheets all wrinkled under the black hedgehog. There were no blankets, there was no need for them in summer. There were two small bedside tables on each side of the bed. Placed on the one closer to Silver there was an empty jug and a glass with just a bit of water. To the bed's left, at the back, on the other bedside table there was a small lamp, which shed a rather dim, yellowish light that made the room look a bit sad and strangely small. But 'small' had to be an illusion; against the wall in front of Silver, at the back of the room, stood a dark, old-looking, and huge wooden wardrobe. To Silver's right, he could see a rather big desk-like table with some drawers. It's wood was lighter than that of the wardrobe, and it definetly looked newer. On top of it, and also lying scattered here and there all over the floor, he found some blood-dirty bandages and a few newspaper pages. The door to the room, located behind the large desk at the back of the right wall, remained shut.

- "So. What do you wanted then?" Shadow's words caught Silver's attention. He instantly tried to check Shadow's bandaged wound but it was already hidden in between the sheets so he looked at him to the eyes instead.

- "Well... I... just thought I'd offer you my help until you recover from your wound. After all, if it weren't because of my fault, you wouldn't have it in the first place... I mean, I'm responsible for it. I guess you're having a bad time walking, so... maybe I could just... stay.. around until you get better...? I am free this week so... Maybe I could be of help... of use... to help you... until you recover..."_ Now why did this sounded so much better back at home? It even made sense there for a moment. This is Shadow I'm talking to. I don't know what to say now. And he's just looking at me with those cold eyes..._ He said nothing else. He just wanted to know what Shadow had understood by his clumsy words so far and what his opinion was. That is, if he didn't just decide to kick him out of his house with his still healthy leg.

- "What... do you intend to do, exactly?" It looked like there was a chance after all.

- "Well... some things like getting you food, buying and bringing you anything you need, and... well, back where I come from, in the future, I got to learn advanced first-aid skills, so maybe I could check your wound to see if it's healing correctly. I heard you've never been to a doctor and thought that you wouldn't be doing it this time either."

- "You guessed correctly. And I don't need you to thank me for what I did. I did it because you and anyone else with the ability to do so would've done the same thing. I don't want anything in _exchange_ for it. And you shouldn't blame yourself, it's not like I was following anyone's orders."

- "Yeah, sorry, but still... I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you so... this is the least I can do. I owe you. Even if this was unexpected, I guess it's the way things turned out like."

- "What's in the bag?" – Shadow suddenly changed the subject. _I guess he's not interested after all..._

- "Oh, I brought a medical kit and some food I made back at home. I thought maybe you didn't have anything for tonight?"

- "I have some stuff in the fridge."

- "Oh... I see" – _Well, at least I've tried._

- "It won't last long, though. I probably won't have anything for tomorrow, so... I'll take it. ...if that's ok with you." _What? Really? _Silver smiled.

- "Of course it is."

So he could be a bit useful after all! Now, if he could only make sure Shadow's wound was healing properly, he could return home and finally rest. Silver's thoughts were interrupted by Shadow's voice, which was softening a bit with every sentence he spoke. – "And I accept your offer. I could really use some help right now."

Silver's ears stood in surprise. _Did... he said he accepted my help?_ Well, that surely had turned out much better than he had expected some seconds ago. He felt relieved that he would be finally able to make sure Shadow was recovering alright after having saved his life. It was the least he could do.

- "Oh, that's great! I won't be a bother, I swear. I'll just come for some hours everyday until you can manage everything by yourself. You won't regret it!" His smile was sincere. Shadow could see in Silver's eyes that he seriously wanted to se him fully healed. The ivory hedgehog just couldn't help it, he really felt responsible. So maybe it would just be better for now, thought Shadow, to let him feel helpful.

- "Is it ok if I see your leg?" Asked Silver. Oh. About that.

- "No need to. I can take care of it."

- "Are you sure? It wouldn't hurt, I just wanna be sure..."

- "No one touches me, is that point clear??" Shadow's face turned dead-serious. What was with the sudden change? He seemed so social for the last seconds that Silver had almost forgotten who he was talking to.

- "I... o-ok... as you wish..." _Maybe some other time... At least I know I'll see him everyday so if something happens I can always immobilize him... I wouldn't wanna do that though..._

- "Appart from that, make yourself at home, I don't care if you stay around, there's even an empty room in this floor if you need to use it to leave stuff or something. You'll find the kitchen downstairs. There are bathrooms in both floors, I don't care which one you use" –Shadow winced a bit, and grabbed his thigh lightly. He looked like he was hurting. Silver doubted for a moment but didn't say anything about it.

- "Thanks. I'm leaving my things in the room and then I'll take the food I brought to the kitchen... Are you hungry?"

- "...yes. I am. But I'm more thirsty than hungry-" he added. His glass was a bit dusty already. – "Go get me some water... please".


	4. Just call my name

Chapter 4 - Just call my name

Silver left Shadow to rest and made his way downstairs to bring him some water. The kitchen didn't look like it was used frequently, pretty much the contrary. He couldn't find any bottled water in the cupboard so he filled the jug with some tap water. There was so little in that cupboard... just a few vegetables, some bread and two legume cans. In the fridge there was only some cheese and eggs, and a small piece of frozen meat. Not enough for more than a couple of days.

He went to Shadow's room again carrying the fresh water and a clean glass.

- "Excuse me, I'm coming in." – he left the jug and the glass on the bedside table to Shadow's right and said –"You have very few things to eat... tomorrow I'll go buy you some more if that's ok with you." Shadow sat on the bed wincing again and poured some water on the glass, then drank it quickly. As he was filling the glass again he spoke.

- "I can't afford it. I'm ok with eating little food."

- "You shouldn't eat little if you're recovering from an injury. And don't worry about the money... you've already paid me enough, with my life." - Shadow was about to protest but Silver went on talking –"I know, you say I don't owe you, but please let me do this, it's the least I can do. You're hurt after all and I don't like to see people suffering anyway." Shadow looked at him for a few seconds, with a blank expression on his face.

- "... Do as you wish then." Shadow closed his eyes and lied down again. He felt strange. He wasn't used to all of this attention. Silver sighed and walked to the door.

- " I'll be back in a few minutes with some pasta I brought. Please rest."

After cleaning a saucepan and heating the food, Silver took the pasta to Shadow's room on a tray he found lying around. For some minutes he just stayed there, sitting next to the window on an armchair he'd brought from the room Shadow was talking about earlier, and just gazing at the now starry sky outside.

- "Aren't you going to eat?" – Shadow had stopped eating and asked.

- "I'm not really hungry right now. Do you like your dinner?"

- "It's... tasty." – He said the words in a low voice, as if he hadn't had a hot meal in a long time and regretted it. He just wasn't the kind of person who took the time to feed himself properly. Being the ultimate lifeform had proved useful when it came to surviving almost on mere willpower. Silver smiled. He had prepared that food himself.

- "I guess I should be leaving. It's getting late and you will probably want to rest. That is, after I take the tray back downstairs and wash the dish."

Shadow ate the last maccaroni and stared at the empty plate for a second. It was getting late indeed, and that made him remember just what had happened the day before, when he tried to go to sleep just a few hours after that. He gave it some thought, remembering the reason why he had agreed to this whole thing in the first place, and finally spoke. – "Silver..."

- "Yes? What is it?" That sounded strange, it was the first time he had addressed Silver by his name since he got there. It felt good, actually. Like he wasn't a complete stranger anymore.

- "Could... could you stay here?" Blink. Blink.............._wait._ _Stay? What? Why would he want that?_ –"Why do you ask me that? Is there something wrong?"

- "Something... _might_ be wrong and I don't know if I'll be able to handle it myself, that's all." Shadow's hand moved a bit against his leg trough the sheets.

- "... Is there something wrong with your leg? May I see it?"

- "It... it may be nothing. Just... answer. Can you stay or not?"

- "... Yes, I can stay. If that's of any help then I will." Silver knew something was wrong, and the only way of finding out what was it was staying with him. He preferred having company in the house during the night anyway. Even if they were someone like Shadow...

- "Ok. Thanks, I guess."

- "You won't let me see it, right?" Silver had already noticed that Shadow's eyes were a bit too shiny. It was highly probable that he was running a fever.

- "Goodnight."

The black hedgehog just left the tray aside and turned so that he was facing the opposite wall. Silver sighed and took the tray and walked away. – "Goodnight, Shadow. You just... call me if you need anything." - Once alone, Shadow shifted so that he could see through the window. _Maybe it won't happen again tonight. I was pretty worn out yesterday... there's no reason why it should hurt like that again today. I should probably try to sleep._

After eating some of the remaining pasta, Silver cleaned the room he was going to sleep in and took off his gloves and boots. This room had no window, so it was cooler. The bed wasn't as big as Shadow's but it was comfortable enough. _Should I go there and ask him if he needs anything else before going to sleep? Why would he want me here if he asks nothing from me? ...maybe I'm just thinking too much. I would also like some company if I was injured. That must be all about it. _Ivory quills landed on the soft sheets and pillow as Silver sighed. _I could use some rest too. I've also been stressed and tired since the attack..._

He turned off the bedside lamp and covered himself a bit with the sheets. It was yet another quite warm night. He started seeing images of the day in his mind as it drifted off to sleep, and almost lost counciousness when suddenly something woke him up violently from his dreams. It was Shadow's voice, moaning his name.


	5. Hold Still

Chapter 5 - Hold still

- "Silver!! Ahh..." Shadow grunted and moaned, and Silver entered the room as fast as he could. Shadow was sitting on the bed, grabbing his bandaged leg tightly.

- "Let me see that!" He tried to touch Shadow but the injured hedgehog would just move away from him.

- "It fucking hurts!! Yesterday... th-the same thing happened yesterday... fuck!!"

- "If it hurts so much then it may be infected, I have to see it!"

- "But...!!"

- "Shadow, I know what I'm doing, just let me see it! I won't touch you, c'mon!"

- "Swear it!"

- "I swear I won't touch you, now let me see it."

Shadow started taking the bandage off while trying to hold back some moans and curses along with them. Once Silver could see, he understood.

- "Shadow, these wounds are badly infected, and they're pretty deep too" – now Silver looked more worried than before, if possible, while staring at the three long, deep parallel cuts in Shadow's flesh. –"I have to do something about it... or it will get worse and I don't think you would stand that..."

- "How bad is it??"

- "Depends on how long you wait... if you don't do anything at all you could end up... well, losing your leg!" – Silver wasn't too sure about that but if that made Shadow cooperate then he was ready to lie a bit. Maybe he wouldn't lose his entire leg, but it would definitely result badly damaged for a very long time, let alone leaving three long scars.

- "You like your leg, don't you?" – Shadow just looked down -" Then, please, let me disinfect it. I know you can endure that."

- "...Ok, ok, just do it!! Aahh, but please be quick.. Aahh I can't stand it!!"

- "I'll grab my stuff" Silver ran out of the room and brought his medical kit. He first checked Shadow's temperature by putting his hand on Shadow's forehead, ignoring a defensive grunt and two threatening fangs. He felt very hot, as Silver had expeted. He cleaned his hands with some gel sanitizer and got ready to clean the wound.

- "Try to hold still now..."

When the first wet tissue touched the wound, Shadow immediately yelled a howling scream of pain, then started moaning and cursing loudly. Silver hadn't even started. As he worked on the wound, Shadow's eyes remained tightly shut but his moaning didn't cease, the tiniest tears forming under his thin eyelashes. He had bent over, panting hard and grabbing the sheets almost to the point of tearing them. But he didn't move his leg from its place. Silver looked around for something for Shadow to bite, but found anything. The shouts were making him feel a knot in his stomach and in his desperation he extended his left arm.

- "Here, bite this" Shadow didn't look and just opened his mouth. He bit on something warm and soft but resistant enough, and his shouting was somewhat muffled. His breathing was hard but that seemed to ease the pain a bit, or at least made it bearable. Silver continued to clean the wound as fast as he could, and after some minutes that seemed like hours, once he was done and needed it back, he took his left hand out from Shadow's mouth. Its minor knuckles where warm, wet and purple where the teeth had pressed, and some blood had come out too. He cleaned the blood and Shadow's saliva with an alcohol-based wipe wincing a bit in the process, and took some new bandages to cover Shadow's wounds. The black hedgehog was panting heavily but had stopped his moans.

Some iodine later, the wounds were bandaged again. Shadow was panting still but not so heavily, and Silver was caressing his own left hand, which still hurt a bit. They stayed like that for about a minute, Shadow lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and Silver sitting by his side. Then Shadow spoke.

- "Thank you. ... Damn that hurt. ...but it feels better now. You made the pain ease."

- "That leg protected me. It's just fair that I do the same, isn't it? Now you should only take some ibuprofene to lower your temperature..." He looked for some in his backpack.

- "... I'm sorry I made you stay. But I don't regret it. You sure know about this medical stuff."

- "I'm glad you're better now. Please take this medicine for the fever and try to sleep. It won't hurt like that again, guaranteed." _Wow, he is talking more than usual. And what's with that polite attitude? 'Thank you'? 'I'm sorry'?? I don't recognize him anymore. Where has he hidden the real Shadow?_ Silver felt happy inside. Like a parent who had just made his child feel safe from all harm or something. He had been right about wanting to see the wound all along. Now he was trying hard not to say 'I told you so'.

Shadow opened his eyes and looked at Silver. He took the pill and the glass at his side to drink some water with that, while still looking at him. He noticed his lightly wounded hand. "Was that... what I was biting?"

- "...it was... but don't worry, it'll be fine soon." Shadow took Silver's hand in his and leaned in closer to see the marks on it. Then he just squeezed it lightly. He could still recall perfectly the pain he had suffered and how the biting had seemed to dim it. Feeling like he had to say something, he just repeated "Thanks." He just didn't know what else to say. Silver just blushed a bit. "It was nothing, you're making me blush. It's not like you being so kind all of a sudden." – "It's not like people caring about me at all either." Shadow let go of Silver's hand. That was unexpected, Silver wasn't sure of what to reply. – "You should go to sleep, you must be tired. I want to sleep now, too." – added the black hedgehog. Silver stood up and turned off the light, so that the moonlight could take its place. "Have a good sleep" – he said and left from Shadow's room.

_Wow. So Shadow had a docile side?_ He suddenly felt like the mouse who took the thorn out from the lion's paw. This thought made him smile as he laid down in his bed. In the other room Shadow stared at the half moon outside the window. "Maria..." _Looks like I still can be cared about after all..._


	6. True Power?

Chapter 6 - True power?

The next day went on smoothly. Silver skipped breakfast... there was no breakfast at Shadow's anyway, so he went to do some shopping. Once he was back Shadow was already awake, so Silver prepared some coffee for them, and took some to Shadow, together with two just-baked muffins he had bought at his favorite bakery for him. During the day, Shadow acted much more polite than usual. His leg had started healing, and it hurt much less now, so he could finally rest and it showed. But this was Shadow after all. So Silver knew he had to keep his distance, even if he had felt so close the night before, or else Shadow could start feeling uncomfortable in his company again or even go back to his hostile attitude. After all, he was used to being alone all the time.

The day was sunny outside and Silver was feeling much better. At the begenning he wasn't sure about this idea, but coming to Shadow's had proved to be the right thing to do after all. Things were going alright, Shadow had let him take care ot his wounds... And he didn't have to spend the days after the attack on his own, back at home.

That afternoon he even got to check Shadow's temperature correctly. He was still running a very small fever as a consequence from the infection, but it was nothing compared to the day before. Shadow also let Silver stay in his room to read, sitting by the window under the sunlight. He took the opportunity to watch him. Under his red eyes, the ivory hedgehod didn't seem to fear him like other people did. He also wouldn't just ignore him, like some other people chose to do. Silver looked like he felt comfortable being around him... and even filled in the permanent void produced by his loneliness. But not as an intruder. Silver had drawn an invisible line between them and was respecting it. That night, when Silver had gone to sleep, Shadow started thinking he might get used to this, and that scared him. He'd been used to being alone for so many years now...

The next day had brought dark clouds to Green Valley. The falling, heavy summer rain could be seen from the darkened room in which the two inhabitants were eating breakfast. That same morning one of them had tried to go downstairs on his own, even when the other one had asked him not to do so. Acording to Silver, it would still take at least one more day until it was safe enough for Shadow to walk freely. But what Silver didn't know was how hard it was for him, to feel useless. Silver had tried to explain that the faster he healed, the sooner he'd be able to run again. Logic had seemed to ease Shadow's anxiousness and he had gone back to his room without further complaint. Now they were listening to the sound of the rain as they drank some hot milk coffee. And Shadow found himself gazing at the white one, once again, as the last one stared out of the window entranced by the view. Shadow didn't want to think anymore. He just let his eyes rest on him, if they were comfortable that way then so be it.

Some hours and a cozy lamb nap* later the rain stopped, yet the sky remained dark and gloomy. After having something to eat, Silver started cleaning the wound again so that he could change the bandages. While he was at it, Shadow told him something he would've never expected to hear:

-"Some of the things you do... they remind me of her."

-"...her?"

-"Maria. ...She used to take care of me. She _cared_ for me... And she had been the only one ever since."

_Maria?_ Shadow never mentioned his past in his presence before... The situation was delicate now. Was Shadow trying to start a conversation? Or did he just want to express himself, to be listened to? And who was this Maria? _The _only one_ who ever cared...?_

-"Who... is she?"

-"A human girl I grew up with... she was raised in the ARK because the atmosphere down here would harm her. She's not longer alive though." Said Shadow.

-"Oh... did something bad happen to her?"

-"She died several years ago..."- Shadow paused for a few seconds -"She was killed, by GUN soldiers. Right in front of me, right after she had saved my life..." Silver let out a small gasp.

-"I... was powerless at the time. ...I've been always being protected by her, and could never return the favor back. She was so young..."

-"Shadow... That sounds really hard... I'm really sorry that you can't be with her..." _So he did have a close friend once. He knows what if feels like. And he just stayed alone all this time after losing her? Losing her like that... how... painful. It sounds unfair, but..._ "But why would GUN want to attack a girl? Were they after her?"

-"No, not after her... That is a rather long story. I might tell you... but some other time."

-"Ok, I understand. This Maria... sounds like she was a beautiful person."

-"She was beautiful indeed. In the inside and on the outside too. She didn't deserved to die like that. I couldn't stand losing her... I still have nightmares about that day." Silver waited for a second, taking some time to think about Blaze,and the day she disappeared, leaving him on his own. He had felt that same closeness to her. He also had have a hard time trying to overcome the whole episode. Silver tried talking some more, –"You know, before she disappeared... I'm not sure what I would've done without Blaze. She always took care of me... She does even now, I believe. Whenever I doubt about something, I hear her voice somewhere inside my head telling me what's the right thing to do..."

-"Do you miss her?"

-"Of course I do, I miss her a lot. I guess we all need someone who cares... close to us."

-"Maria would take care of me, like an older sister. We grew up together, we did everyhting as a team... But that's never coming back. I've lost her forever."

They both remained silent for a while, caught in deep thought. This changed things. This changed Silver's image of Shadow completely. It's like he had never known him at all before, and just now was beginning to peek inside him. Shadow's eyes had softened since he started talking about Maria; Silver could see warmth, affection and care in them, and finally sadness, pain and guilt. Some things started to make sense now. He gave it some more thought, remembering the things Blaze had taught him, the words his mother spoke once, his own experiences. He finally spoke, in a soft voice. He felt like he had to. He felt Shadow needed it.

-"Shadow, I'd like to tell you something... I don't know if I'm the right person to do so, or if my opinion is correct at all, but I believe I have to tell you what I think. Just... take it as an opinion... from someone who knows little about you, ok?"

-"...Um, just go ahead."

Silver grabbed some clean bandages and started twisting them in his bare hands as he spoke.

-"At the beginning, I thought... I thougt you just cared about yourself, and you alone. You never seemed to be worried about the rest, like you just cooperated because you had nothing better to do. Then I came here and saw your house, run down and messy, the very own place where you live in... and learnt how you don't feed yourself properly. That, added too the fact that you never get medical assistance when you're wounded... made me think that you didn't even care about _yourself_. That scared me a little." – Shadow looked puzzled.–"No, please, don't get me wrong. Please let me finish..."

-"Ok... Go on." - Shadow didn't look offended, just curious. Silver had been analysing him, and that made him wonder about his conclusions.

-"I worried me... At some point I blamed a possible lack of love and care in your childhood... people who don't receive love usually don't know _how_ to give it, to show it to other people and, specially, to themselves. You know... it's said that it's not possible to love someone if you don't know how to love yourself first... But I didn't know anything about you at all, until now. If you did receive affection, then I think that you must know how to give it back. I also think that the reason why you don't like being around people is that you're still depressed about losing Maria, since she was the only one to love and care for you. I believe... that maybe you didn't want anyone to 'replace' her. It shows you care deeply for her... maybe you never wanted anyone to fill that space she left, because she was unique for you...? Irreplaceable... It's like you didn't even want _yourself_ to replace her. And that could only be if... Am I right if I say that, at some point, you feel guilty for her death?"

-"I... did feel guilt before. It was hard to accept the fact that I couldn't have done anything to change... what happened." – Shadow's eyes looked deeply into the wall across the room. He was listening carefully to Silver's words while his eyes shone a bit more than usual.

-"Shadow. Maria must've been an amazing person, caring for you like that. And I think that she probably would've wanted you to be happy, caring for yourself and for the rest, as she did with you. If she saw you like this, scarcely eating, not treating your wounds... wouldn't she worry about you?"

- "She.... did ask something from me. Right before she... before she saved me, she asked me to save the people of this planet."

- "She did? She must've been very brave. I guess she included you among them then... See, it's not what she asked from you, but _why_ she asked for it. She probably loved the people of her planet, that's why she wanted you to protect them. In order for you to be able to protect someone, you have to care about them, have an interest in them. The greatest power comes when you want to protect something. Like... the reason why I came to the past in the first place, to protect my future homeland."

Shadow thought about the moment when ARK had been under attack. The way Maria, who usually would stay in her room and never did too much exercise because of her condition, had followed him and had run faster than never before all across the ARK. The flawless way in which she had operated the controls of that escape capsule, even under the pression of being pursued by armed men, only so that she could save him. If only he had known that there was no room for her in that capsule, that she knew the danger they were in and still put her life on the line to give him a chance... All that bravery, all that power Maria showed... did it came from her desire to protect him? And with him, the people of the Earth? Silver interrupted his thoughts yet once again.

-"Just think about Sonic, for example. All the times he fights against Eggman, all the tought situations he goes through... He cares about those he protects. And he _clearly_ cares for himself" – that was undeniable –"that's why he naturally knows how to care for the rest, regardless of that self-centered image he always shows. Being powerful, like you are, is of course necessary, but you need something to control all that power, a reason to guide it into the right direction, or it will eventually turn harmful and pointless. If you want to fulfill Maria's wish, you need to overcome her loss and start loving yourself again." –Silver listened to his own words and blushed a bit, maybe they sounded too harsh. Overcoming the loss of the only person who had ever cared for you was easier said than done, he knew that. –"At least... it's just a theory. It's not like I know you enough yet... maybe I'm just wrong... maybe I'm just being rude and I should shut up..."

Silver decided to make silence. He had finally reached his point, there was no turning back, he had talked enough. Shadow had listened, without interrupting. Now it was Silver's turn to wait and listen back.

-"I don't know if I'll be able to. I still miss her... too much. It's not the same now that she's gone, it hurts inside."

-"I know the feeling. I understand you, believe me, I miss Blaze too. But I don't think you have _completely_ lost her though."

-"What do you mean by that?"

-"As long as you coutinue to remember her like that, she won't be completely gone. I think I know where she is now... I can feel her... right here." – Silver dropped the bandage he was holding and placed his bare hand on Shadow's chest, fingers hidden between white fur. There he found Shadow's steady heartbeats. – "I'm sure a part of her still lives inside you, because you remember and care about her so much, after all this time."

Shadow closed his eyes. He started thinking about her and for a few seconds, he could see her clearly. A nice, warm feeling slowly run through his body. Maybe Silver was right? He opened his eyes as he felt the warmness of Silver's hand leave it's place on his chest.

-"I'm... I'm sorry I did that. I forgot you disliked it." –Silver stood up, blushing. – "I'm finished with the bandaging so... I'll just leave for now. I'm sorry I said all that, I got carried away... I talk too much sometimes and-"

-"Silver, I'm not upset."

-"What?"

-"I said I'm not angry... you didn't do anything bad, so you shoudln't apologize."

-"Oh... right, I just... I'll be taking these to- uh..." – The doorbell suddenly rang cutting Silver's words. He was thankful that something would distract them for a while. – "I'd better go see who it is."

*Lamb Nap: It's how Spanish call a short nap between breakfast and lunch. Try it, no more than half an hour... it's refreshing!


	7. This Is How Things Are

Chapter 7 - This is how things are

Silver went downstairs and across the living room. When he opened the door he found his three friends: Sonic, Knuckles and a still slightly wet Tails. He would look so fluffy after that.

-"Silver? What are you doing here man?" – Sonic entered the house without waiting to be invited and sat on the couch, followed by Knuckles; Tails smiled shyly at Silver trying to apologize for their behaviour and finally entered, but stood on his feet. He didn't want to get the couch wet.

-"I've been helping Shadow, since he got his wound because of my fault... I feel responsible for what happened to him so..."

-"Wow, you sure this is Shadow's? What happened to this place??"- asked Knuckles, interrupting him.

-"Oh, I've been doing some cleaning... I had some free time these days so..."

-"You mean you've been here all the time? That would explain why we couldn't find you at your place!" added Sonic.

-"What do you mean...?"

-"We wanted you to come with us here, to visit Shadow. We thought you would've liked that. So, we tried to locate you during these last two days, but since we couldn't find you, we just decided to come anyway" –explained the little fox.

Sonic spoke again: -"Well, Shadow would normally just starve, eating some healthy crap ever once in a while until he somehow managed to recover and re-appear at the last minute. He's not the kind of guy who would willingly enter a hospital. Not if he can avoid it. And I believed he just... wouldn't let someone help him like that either..."

-"Why do you say that?"

Silver got no answer to this, and only he got to see the serious and almost sad look in Sonic's face as his emerald eyes looked somewhere else. Tails had started talking again.

-"We hoped we could see Shadow. We brought him some cake, we thought that maybe he'd like to have it..."

-"I'll go tell him you're here, he still isn't walking much so he's in his room. I'll be right back." – Silver left the group and went upstairs, still wondering about Sonic's reaction.

In a few moments the three visitors were standing in front of Shadow's bed.

-"Hey there." – greeted Knux.

-"Hi, Shadow!" – added Tails.

-"Hey, how are you feeling, big boy?"

-"I'm fine, Sonic. Doing well as you can see. Tails, you can use a towel if you want."

-"I'm... er... I can wait..."

-"Oh, don't be shy, come here" – said Silver, grabbed him by the hand and took him to the bathroom.

-"I can see you're ok. In fact you look a lot better than I would've expected."

-"I guess... Silver's help did a lot." Sonic remained serious.

-"Who would've thought you woud let someone in here like this... I thought you could be alright by yourself? That you could handle any situation on your own?"

-"...I might've been wrong about that."

Why won't he just react?! Sonic felt disturbed about this new attitude. It was like Shadow was playing with him... Shadow and Sonic stared at each other for a few seconds without saying a word.

-"We brought you cake!" Knuckles broke the ice showing the paper bag he was holding.

-"That's thoughtful of you. But I don't think I'll be able to go downstairs to..." - Silver and Tails re-entered the room. Silver was rubbing Tails' head with a light blue towel and the fox just held his arms up, a gesture that looked like he was trying to stop him but didn't dare, almost whimpering words that sounded like "please, don't..." and "so very fluffy...".

-"...as I was saying"- continued Shadow -"I won't be able to go downstairs to share it with you, and besides, I have a headache right now."

-"It's for you, we can leave it in your kitchen if you want and if you're not feeling well then we'll just... leave" –said Sonic. He looked calmed for a moment, distracted by the suspense behind Tails' imminent burst of fluffiness.

-"Silver, why don't you go with them? You haven't had any fun since you came here, you haven't gone out except for buying stuff. You must feel bored. You could use some distraction."

-"That sounds good, really" – said Knuckles.

-"I guess I could do that... if that's ok with you?"

-"We were just going downtown to eat something. You could use some rest too, Shadow." – Said Sonic. He looked serious again.

-"Well then... I guess I'm going then!"

-"Enjoy yourselves."

-"Then it's settled! Bye Shadow, see you around man! Hey Sonic, I bet I can eat more than you!" – Knux opened the room door and stepped outside.

-"See you some other time, Shadow. Get well! ...Hey, Sonic... I don't want people to see me like this..." – said Tails shyly as he followed Knuckles. He now looked like a soft, cute, extremely fluffy bundle of golden fur.

-"Don't worry buddy, I'll help you with that in a second..." – Sonic waited for Silver to leave the room and closed the door behind him. – "Shadow..." he stared silently for a second, examining Shadow carefully. His eyes, his arms, his whole body. Shadow just looked at him without saying anything. Sonic finally spoke to him. - "I can see you are in good hands. I'm just sorry mine weren't as good. Well... ...take care, 'cause you better recover fast. You still owe me a race, remember?"

Sonic then left the room thinking to himself. _Shadow... does he have a clue about what he's doing, asking Silver to stay with him? Staying over? Letting him actually touch his wounds? And then they say I'm the clueless one... Even Amy could tell what's going on here! And Silver... Tsk_- Bitterness filled his mouth as he clenched his fist.

After Silver gave Shadow something for the headache and everyone left, the striped hedgehog could finally rest. He looked out the window. The sky was still covered with silver clouds. He watched them as they traveled slowly across the window pane and slowly fell asleep.

That night, when Silver returned and before going to bed, he entered Shadow's room quietly to make sure he was alright. The light was off but the clouds had already left the sky and the moonlight was strong enough to enlighten Shadow's body and part of the bed. Silver could see the moment when the dark hedgehog turned his head slowly and opened his eyes a bit. He had woken him up.

-"...Silver?"

-"Oh, I'm sorry... I woke you up, I didn't mean to..."

-"Don't worry."

-"Sorry I'm so late, the guys... you, you must be hungry... I'll-"

-"I ate already."

-"Oh. ...I see..."

-"Did you have a good time?"

-"S-sure! The guys are fun to hang out with. Well, Sonic's been a bit off today... I don't know what happened to him. I just hope he's ok."

-"Don't worry, he will be. He's the toughest man I know. He's been through worse."

-"What do you mean... you know what's wrong with him?"

- "I'll tell you some other time... Just come closer. I can't see you there."

Silver walked until he was standing between the bed and the window, as the moonlight bathed the quills in his back and part of his side. The way it made his fur shine justified Silver's name perfectly.

-"Yes? What is it?"

-"Just a bit closer..." Silver bent a little, so that he could hear better.

-"Like this?"

-"Closer..."

_What does he want?_ Silver got a bit closer... from this distance he could see Shadow's half-opened eyes clearly. He still looked sleepy and relaxed. Maybe that was why he was in that soothing, calm mood... Silver slightly blushed. This Shadow made him feel... warm.

-"Closer..."

-"Sh-Shadow... what..." His own weight was making him lose balance so he grabbed the top of the headboard with his right hand and put the other on Shadow's pillow. _Why am I obeying? Just what am I doing? Shadow... is it... his eyes... his deep voice...?_

-"Shhh... just... come closer..." Silver's heart was pounding hard now, as their noses slightly touched. Shadow was so close to him... Blush now covered most of Silver's face. Without moving a single inch, Shadow spoke again.

-"Closer..." Silver closed his eyes and leaned forward as told.

He felt Shadow's soft lips brush his own. He swallowed. He couldn't move, couldn't open his eyes. He felt paralyzed. And what he then felt made his heart skip a bit: Shadow's lips moving against his, caressing them as he smiled and spoke again.

-"Almost there."

Silver finally gave in to Shadow's -and now his own- desire and pressed his soft lips against his. The sensation that followed was intense, a rush of excitement run through his whole body as Shadow gently stroked the fur on his chest with his warm hand. Shadow was returning the kiss tenderly to him, moving slowly, silky lips embracing his own in a sweet motion... and it felt painfully good. As he caressed Silver's face with his free hand he eventually ended the kiss and looked at him, still smiling. Silver opened his golden eyes to meet with ruby ones and realized he hadn't been breathing, so he gasped for air, slightly embarrassed.

- "Thank you for everything. And for this." Shadow said. He was blushing a bit too.

-"I, no, I just- uh... you're... welcome...? You... did you just-...? You just kissed me...!" Silver took his fingertips to his own lips. Shadow's warmth still lingered.

-"I think _you_ did. I didn't move at all, see? I lie wounded in my bed, just trying to get some sleep. I guess you couldn't help it 'cause I am so attractive." He smiled ironically.

-"Shadow, I...! ...I... I liked it..."

-"That was the idea. You should get some sleep, it's late and you still have to hold me captive tomorrow- I mean, take care of me." _Or else I won't know what else to do or say and you'll get to notice how nervous I actually am. I thought this was gonna be easier! Stupid heart, stop that fierce pounding!_

-"Hm, ok... if that's what you want... I guess... I'll see you tomorrow then." Silver couldn't stop smiling nervously as he left the room.

Once he was in his bed, expecting to re-live the moment inside his head and feel that marveolus sensation again, he found his eyes slowly starting to fill with tears, his excitement leaving him. It looked like the tension was still there after all. He turned upside down and buried his face in his pillow. Was this the same that happened to him when Blaze tried to kiss him? No, it felt different. Why was he sad then? He had enjoyed it! He would do it again... or was he afraid? No... it wasn't that... he liked Shadow and wasn't afraid of him... he just was surprised... He didn't exactly feel sad... He felt... like he had shared his privacy for the first time. It was a strange feeling... but he'd do it again... he'd definitely do it again. Holding to that fact Silver drifted in a whirlwind of feelings and thoughts inside his mind, and he couldn't find rest for a couple of hours. His body finally gave in to his tiredness of all the day and finally fell asleep, with a shy smile on his lips ...and new warmness in his heart.


	8. After a Good Night of Sleep

Chapter 8 – After a good night of sleep

The next day, Silver woke up to the sound of the doorbell. It kept ringing repeatedly. He quickly stood and somehow tidied his quills a bit, then run downstairs to the door. When he opened it, he found Sonic, an urgent expression on his face.

- "Silver! Great, now wake up, we need your help at Saltown, asap! Whoa... bad fur day?" Silver looked down, still sleepy. He forgot his chest fur, it looked all messy.

- "That's not important, what is it? Is there any problem?"

- "No time to talk, I'll tell you on the way!" Sonic said that and took Silver by the hand, dashing away from Shadow's house and across the field.

- "Woah! Easy! What's wrooooong??" Sonic let go of his hand and Silver started following with the help of his powers. Withouth looking back, Sonic started explaining, almost shouting so that he could be heard over the sound of the air that passed through them at high speed.

- "We're helping with the reconstruction of Saltown's main square and this huge piece of concrete fell from a half-destroyed building and trapped two people under it, they're badly hurt...! The thing is the size of a room, we can't lift it from it's place without breaking it first, it's too heavy... but by doing so we risk to harm them even more! They're bleeding too much now, we need you to raise that thing from it's place so that they can be taken to the hospital as quick as possible!!"

- "Allright, let's go then!! I hope we make it in time!!" Without further need to talk, both sped up until they were nothing more than two piercing bullets.

Back at his home, Shadow stood at Silver's room door. No Silver there, no Silver in the bathroom, no Silver anywhere in the house. Just what was all that bell-ringing before? Had something happened? It was no use, he just had to wait. He felt tired of being indoors at this point. He carefully went downstairs, one step at a time. He didn't want to ruin all of Silver's work on his leg by stupidly tripping now. He then slowly walked towards the kitchen. And once he reached his goal, it hit him: _Oh, right. I've never prepared coffee before. Too bad I'm getting used to it._

Before spending some time with Silver, Shadow would think he was the best, the most powerful, an all-mighty hedgehog. There was nothing he couldn't do. And now, it was things like this, the small things, that made him wonder... There were lots of things he wasn't able to do. Things Silver seemed to have mastered, related to people, to every day living, to everything constructive. Shadow's power seemed to be of the destructive kind instead; while he had the power to kill, Silver had the power to heal. While he had the power to destroy, Silver had the power to create. And while he had the power to fast, Silver had the power of coffee.

- "UuuhhnnnhyyYYAAHH!!" With all his remaining psychokinetic power (he had travelled all the way to Saltown using it) and a great effort to control the tiniest movement so as not to hurt the trapped people underneath, Silver lifted the huge concrete wall in the air. He moved it over a clear part of the square where nobody could be hurt and then... – "YYAAAHH!!!" – with a swift movement of his arms, he send a shockwave to the boulder pulverizing it mid-air to a paramount pile of dirt. Sonic and Amy where already checking the two men and helped getting them up so that they could be taken into the ambulance. Silver panted, it had been no joke, the thing had been pretty heavy. Cream and Tails ran to him and clapped loudly.

- "Awesome job, Silver!! You saved them!! Way to go!!"

- "Thank you Mr. Silver, you are so strong and so brave!"

- "It's ok, no big deal..." Silver smiled to the kids, or kid and 10-year-old-man, like Tails asked them to call him. He lifted Cream in his arms and stroked Tails head with his free hand. Cream hugged him, she liked to think of Silver as the brave and gentle older brother she never had. And of course, she liked feeling his fluffy chest hair too.

- "Tsk, that chest hair... I need to get some. Seriously, look at that. A chick magnet." Sonic approached smiling.

- "Are you jealous, blue boy?" Silver smiled too. Tails left Silver's side and went to Sonic's. The blue hedgehog absently stroked the little fox's back while talking.

- "You did a great job. Thanks for your help, pal. The two of them will be ok." Sonic gave him a cool pose and a rewarding wink.

- "Really? I'm glad to hear that... And, you know. I just like being helpful" answered Silver, trying hard to hold Cream properly. He was a bit tired from using his powers for so long.

- "So, how's Shadow doing? Was he still alive when you returned home yesterday?"

- "Heh, yes, he was-..." When thinking back, the memories of the night before suddenly struck Silver. He hadn't have the time to think about it with all the conmotion about the wounded workers. He remembered everything that happened: getting home late, waking up Shadow by accident, him asking Silver to get closer, and closer, and closer, and closer...

- "Silver? Are you still with us?" asked Sonic waving a hand in front of his face. Tails stared at him curiously, now leaning a bit on Sonic's side since the last one was resting his other hand (the one he wasn't waving) on the fox's opposite shoulder.

- "Mr. Silver? Your face turned red, are you feeling well?" Cream's little hand touched his forehead to check his temperature and Silver came back to reality.

- "Uh, yeah, I'm fine, I was just saying that... yes, well, I couldn't see him very well because he was already asleep, and I couldn't see him today but I guess he's doing fine..."

- "... Tails, would you please take Cream with you, I remembered I need to talk to Silver about something. It'll be a second."

With that Tails helped Cream down from Silver's arms and they went back to where Amy was.

Silver wasn't sure of Sonic's intentions so he just waited for him to talk first. But Sonic just looked at him. After staring for some seconds, he finally asked.

- "Silver, is Shadow happy?"

- "What? What do you mean?"

- "When you're with him... have you seen him smile? Once, at least?"

- "...I... I have, yes..."

- "...." Sonic looked at him for a moment. Silver stood there, staring at some floor tile over there. After a moment, wondering why Sonic wouldn't say anything else, he finally made eye contact. Five seconds, it took five seconds until he blushed and lowered his head again. Sonic's gaze was making him nervous.

- "Take this."

Silver looked up and saw the purest cyan glow in Sonic's hand. The emerald shone with it's own power.

- "A Chaos emerald? Why... why would you give this to me?"

- "So that you can use Chaos Control to get back to Shadow. I don't think you would survive the trip back in your actual state... And you want to see him soon, don't you? Then go to him." Silver raised his head again and saw Sonic smiling sincerely at him. – "Good luck with Shadow. He's not an easy hedgehog to handle. But I guess you'll do allright."

- "I... ....Sonic, have you ever-...?" Sonic didn't let him finish, he just put the emerald in Silver's still doubtful hand and said the words.

- "Chaos... Control!!!"

When he opened his eyes, Silver was standing in front of Shadow's house, Chaos emerald in hand. Still confused about the whole conversation and the dimensional trip that followed, he only got to ask himself "What the _heck_ was all that about...?"


	9. The Sweetest Breakfast

**Chapter 9 – The sweetest breakfast**

Once Silver recovered from the forced dimensional warp, still thinking of Sonic's words, he focused on Shadow's house across the field. Something was wrong… there was smoke coming out the kitchen's window.

-"What's that? No… Shadow!" Silver tried to use his powers to fly but his body was already at its limit. He run instead, the best he could. "What if the house is catching fire? Shadow can't run, he may faint and asphyxiate with the smoke! He could get burnt! SHADOW!!"

From the inside, Shadow saw a panicking Silver slam the door open.

-"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?! WHERE'S THE FIRE??!!"

-"Silver, I'm here. I just burnt my toasts. Calm down."

-"What?? Oh… no injuries then? No… fire?... oh." Silver stood there panting and lowered his head, ashamed.

-"I guess I'm not cut out to prepare some simple breakfast after all." - Said Shadow. He smiled at the run down hedgehog. - "Where have you been? Seems like you just defeated a whole division of Eggman's robots by yourself."

-"I… Sonic asked for my help this morning… there were this hurt people trapped under a huge boulder and… they needed my help to set them free and unharmed…"

-"I see, you were being a hero then."

- "Anyone would've done the same… I had to use almost all my power, but they're safe now, thankfully. Wait, you're downstairs again?"

-"I was hungry…"

-"Oh, I see… …uh, sorry about that…"

-"You don't have to be sorry, you were at the right place to be. And I've been careful."

-"I'll… I'll help you with that…" Silver put aside the burnt toaster and bread and started cleaning the mess Shadow did with the coffeemaker. He then heard a little gasp followed by Shadow sitting on a nearby chair. He dropped what he was doing.

-"Would you like me to help you go upstairs again? I'll bring you breakfast in a minute…"

Shadow smiled at him.

-"… If that's not a problem."

-"Ok, I'll just uh… right, no psychokinetic power left… hm…" - Blushing, he walked over to Shadow's side and offered him his hand. – "Guess we're doing it the old way?"

Shadow stood up and put his hand on Silver's opposite shoulder letting the white hedgehog hold him by the waist. As they reached the lasts steps in the stairs, Shadow spoke in a low voice.

-"You really are a hero. My savior." He then kissed Silver's cheek. Making him stumble and almost trip, of course.

-"Sh- Shadow!" pleaded a blushing Silver.

-"Yes?" The dark hedgehog was smiling.

-"N-nothing… you'll make us fall…"

-"I'm sorry that I couldn't resist."

Once they reached the bed they both sat so that Shadow could lie, but before he did Silver decided to put something that had been bothering him into words.

-"Shadow… does… does all this mean we…? We are…"

-"… It can mean whatever you want it to mean. It only means one thing for me. I want you to stay by my side." – These words just made Silver even more nervous. Or was it excited? Either way, his heart beat fast.

-"It's… it's not like you to say that. Why me?"

-"You… you are nothing like me… you shed some light to my dull and dark existence. But we do have something in common. You know my pain. That's why I feel I can open myself to you."

-"Shadow…"

-"Silver… Kiss me again…"

Without doubting Silver leaned in for his second kiss. Shadow knew now that he had won Silver's trust. The younger hedgehog had placed his bet and wasn't going back on his actions. This time the silvery hedgehog closed his eyes and held Shadow in his arms timidly while the other did the same. Shadow caressed Silver's back in a slow motion and his kisses became slightly more demanding and warm, Silver just followed, trying to keep up. Was it always going to feel this good? He surely hoped so. He felt both safe and dominated in Shadow's arms, and this made his body all hot and… receptive? …All he knew is that he wanted more of these new sensations. Still taking the lead, Silver experimented parting his lips, slightly shuddering in the inside with the natural fear of that which is unknown, beyond of one's control. Shadow didn't think it twice when he slid his tongue through trembling lips. Silver soon found out that making out wasn't as he had expected… at all.

_Hmmm… this is strange… and wet… and slippery… so this is what kissing is about?_

He had thought it would be more… forceful and… tasty? But this was more like a hot and humid, intimate caress … Shadow was being careful after all… or at least, that was the conclusion Silver reached. He decided to let his mind rest, stop analyzing so much, and concentrated on _feeling_ instead. Entangled as he was with Shadow, he let his weight fall onto the bed, so he was lying on his back. Shadow followed bending over the white hedgehog, still kissing him deeply. After some moments of quills and fur caressing and deep-kissing, the black hedgehog decided to end the round with a mischievous soft bite on Silver's lower lip before lifting back to a sitting position. This made the silver-like hedgehog feel a hot and quick spark-like sensation somewhere in between his legs…

Too shy to even speak he just let a timid moan escape his throat, enough for Shadow to realize his move had served its purpose.

_This kissing thing has potential… oh god, that was hot…_

Unable to say a word out of nervousness Silver just smiled shyly at Shadow. He was blushing hard now, resting his weight on his forearms after starting to lift himself up. And to top it off, his fur was in a mess. The cuteness was too much even for someone like the Ultimate Life Form, but it wasn't in his script to glomp people, so he just smirked sexily at him.

- "How do you feel?"

- "I… that was incredible… that was… the first time for me…"

Of course Shadow knew. He'd been so passive and soft that he was practically begging for an instruction book. And the way he shivered with that last bite… Geez, it _exuded_ virginity.

- "Was it, really? You felt so good to me that I couldn't have told…" He tickled Silver's tummy making him laugh and fall back again on his back. Taking advantage of the situation, Shadow leaned forward and kissed Silver again. This time his hands grabbed hold of the other's shoulders and the kiss soon deepened, with Shadow's torso's weight on top of Silver's. If it hadn't been for the injured leg, he would've been all over Silver by then. The kissing was rougher this time, Shadow wouldn't let Silver take a breath, and his hands traded their subject of caressing from quills to flanks. Silver felt dizzy and overwhelmed all of a sudden. He wasn't sure of what was happening until he felt a hot breath on his chest and gloved fingers sliding across his thighs. This was far too much more than he had expected, this… he couldn't handle.

-"W-wait… Shadow… STOP!! ….please!"

Shadow 'surfaced' and looked up.

-"What's wrong? Am I hurting you?"

-"No… but please, let's stop for now… this… this is too much for me right now… I'm confused…" His blush now had a different origin. He looked away with shame. "I'm... sorry…"

Shadow sighed and smiled with eyes closed.

-"All right, there's no need to push ourselves any further for now… After all, this _is_ your first time doing these things…"

He let himself lie on the bed and looked up to a now sitting Silver.

-"Are you mad at me?"

-"Don't be ridiculous. There's no way I could get mad at you with you acting all attractive all of a sudden. It's only natural I feel the…" - '_Urge to eat you up_' was the kind of thing he couldn't tell Silver right now. That would scare him even more. Make him run away. Unwanted. - "…need to make you feel good."

-"I… am acting all attractive?" That brought the smile back to Silver's face.

-"You are… you sure know how to seduce me." He smiled, looking at Silver through half lidded eyes. He had spoken the truth. Nothing more.

-"Shadow…"

-"Please kiss me again... just a peck… before you go downstairs and leave me on my own?"

-"Oh, right, breakfast!! I forgot I haven't-.." – he stood up like a spring because of the nervousness before thinking of what Shadow had asked. – "Ah… of course… Mmmwah. Be right back!" And with that last smooch he quickly went downstairs.

Suddenly all the tiredness from that morning seemed to have washed away. Only seemed, for he still wasn't ready to make use of his powers, but that clearly didn't bother him. His mind was home to a whirlwind of intelligible thoughts as he prepared breakfast in a kind of automatic mode. He didn't know whether to run, cry, scream, jump, laugh, hide, or dance… so he decided that for the moment he would do something his body had been craving for since the incident earlier that morning, and he just realized when the sweet smell reached his nostrils: He'd have something substantial to eat.


End file.
